Josef's Little Problem
by Ita-ta
Summary: We have a small problem. And by 'we' I mean I'm dragging you into it.' He gestured to Mick and Beth. 'Hi' A high pitched voice greeted them. 'Josef! You call that a small problem,' Mick asked. JosefBeth
1. Prologue Nightmares

**Ita-ta here. Uhm yeah this is extremely short, I know, I know. I'm hoping for some input and encouragement so please review, even though this is short. Hell, you can yell at me for having it so short.**

**Moonlight belongs to the producers and writers of the show, not me.**

**This is just the prologue, I am going to write more in the next week.**

**The little song is from the book. "White is for Magic" by Laurie faria Stolarz. A little bit of credit goes out to O-Renji-Un because they first used this quote from the book in a fic I read by them.**

- - - - -

Josef was a man who could be patient. He went through four meetings today and only consumed three glasses of blood. He was exhausted, extremely tired. It was six o'clock in the morning and starting his day at midnight, he decided he deserved a long sleep. He had decided to walk back, because the air was so cold at that time and he liked it.

He could be sarcastic. He could be calm. However, when he was passing by an alleyway to see a little girl sitting on the ground with a little doll in the dingy place, he could not summon his calm. When he heard what she was saying, he could not summon sarcasm.

"Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack. All dressed in black, black, black. She has a knife, knife, knife. Stuck in her back, back, back."

Josef was horrified to say the least. He took an involuntary step forward and stilled at her next words.

"She cannot breathe, breathe, breathe. She cannot cry, cry, cry." Josef saw the darkened solemn azure eyes in the greatest of detail. He took in the angelic long blonde hair that was tied in two pigtails. "That's why she begs, begs, begs. She begs to die, die."

- - - - -

Gasping loudly, Josef jack-knifed into a sitting position. He was in a cold sweat, his breathing heavy as if he had just run a marathon. It a few moments for him to realize that it was just a dream. Well, rather a nightmare. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. As if he couldn't get enough sleep already.

"Well for four-hundred years, that makes my top-twenty freaky dreams list," He muttered to himself in sarcasm and cynicism.


	2. JLP2 Games

Josef slowly hauled himself out of bed. He ran his hand through his hair once more and walked into his bathroom connected to his bedroom. He slipped out of boxers and stepped into the shower turning the water ice cold. He washed, ruffled his hair and rubbed his eyes. Stepping out, he wrapped a towel around his waist and let his hair air dry out.

Walking back into his bedroom, he visibly jumped when he saw azure eyes staring up at him from her perch on his bed. He blinked and she was gone. Letting out a loud groan, he dressed, pulling on an indigo dress shirt and dark blue slacks.

Running a hand through his hair in a nervous action, he closed his eyes. Deciding he needed some breakfast, he headed out of his room and down the massive highly decorated staircase. After that, he'd bury himself in his work.

- - - - -

"I knew I should have took the limo." Josef muttered to himself. He walked on his way home, the cool wind brushing against his cheek, sounds of cars at the next intersection all amplified by his vampiric senses. He didn't miss the quiet giggle behind him but when he looked over his shoulder, nothing was there. Burying his hands in the pockets of his Hugo Boss coat, he looked forward, ears pricked for the little giggle again.

Again he heard it, and whirling around, his arm shot out and lifted the little body up in the air by the collar of her white dress. He assumed that only with his vampiric speed, he would catch her.

"Brother!" She grinned at him, unafraid. Large blue eyes twinkled in mischief.

"You!" He growled. She had appeared sitting by the office window, standing on the limousine hood, perched on his bed. The little girl, not eight years old, was burning Josef's patience to very little. "Why have you been following me?" He snarled, his feral gaze pinning her down.

"Please put me down, Brother, people will think odd of you if they see you holding up a defenceless little girl by the scruff of her neck." She said, her gaze directed downward and her voice the barest of whispers.

Josef could hear it though so, very reluctantly, he placed her on the ground. He kept his grip on her, her small black-shoed feet tapping onto the sidewalk as they hit the ground.

"Now release me." She said in the same voice, so solemn and sad.

"How do I know you're not going to vanish?" Josef growled, distrusting.

"It took me awhile to find you. I'm not going to let you go." She looked at him then, a small almost dark smile settling onto her pale face.

Josef stiffened at the sudden implications. "Who are you?" He snarled, his patience coming to an end. His voice was quiet but both of them could hear the aggravation in it. Instead of releasing her, his grip tightened on the snow white collar.

"Brother, don't play games, of course you know me. Please release me," She let a bit of whining into her voice and raised it several octaves, her eyes becoming watery.

Josef unclenched his fist, taken aback by how quickly changing and volatile her emotions were. She looked only eight, aren't most eight year olds supposed to be disgustingly chipper? The unclenching of his hand was all she needed, it seemed. A fit of giggles was heard behind him. Whirling around, he watched nonplussed as she started skipping down the sidewalk, in the direction of his apartment.

"C'mon Brother! Stop looking like a dope and let's go home already." She grinned cheerfully as she stuck her tongue out. His eyes didn't miss the slightly sharpened and elongated canines but they were quickly hidden as she twirled around and kept going.

He shook himself out of his shock and briskly walked to keep up with her. "Why do you keep calling me brother?" he asked as he fell in stride with her. He was surprised that she easily knew which way they had to go to get to his apartment.

"You are, silly. If you can't even remember my name, Brother, it starts with an M, but I like the L part better." She said in a cheerfully childish voice.

"I haven't met you once in my life, I can't know the name of someone I haven't met," Josef argued his tone exasperated.

The little girl just giggled. "You have a meeting with Mick, tomorrow, right?" She asked.

Josef was again surprised and he narrowed his eyes at her, aura growing dangerous. He was getting tired of all of these surprises and he was still exhausted. "How did you know that?" He asked her warily.

"I know a lot of things Brother," She smiled up at him and tilted her head. "We're here." She announced.

Josef abruptly looked up, finding himself in front of the apartment building. He was so engrossed his conversation with the little girl he hadn't noticed their arrival. He briskly climbed the front steps and entered through the spinning doors. The little girl giggled as she went around twice. She arrived at his side moments later.

They were in the expansive lobby, a young male manning the reception desk. He was a vampire too, his name Malcolm, Josef recalled. He quickly crossed the threshold, the young girl trailing behind him as she took in everything with wide eyes. He arrived at the elevator and pressed the topmost button to lead them to the penthouse apartment. The girl was right beside him as he stepped inside.

Malcolm gave them an odd look as the elevator door shut. It was rare that Mr. Konstantin brought guests but he'd never seen the vampire bring up a little girl before.

"Why do you want to know about my meeting with Mick?" He asked the little girl, watching her play with the sleeve of her dress.

"I'm going to talk to him. Is he bringing Beth? I'd love to formally meet her." She said, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

"He probably will," He didn't even ask how she knew Beth, as he supposed that he would just get another vague answer from her.

"Okay!" She grinned.

The elevator gave a ding and opened up to reveal the entrance hall. There were doors along both sides, but they only led to closets. The end door led to the living room of his apartment. They entered through it and the little girl beside him let out a gasp.

"Pretty, Brother!" She grinned. "I call the couch." She slipped off her black shoes, untying them and placing them neatly next to his. She then raced to the large sofa and curled up on it.

"Hey! Are you saying you're staying with me?" Josef frowned, disgruntled at how she wormed into his life so quickly.

"Duh," She said and closed her eyes as if she deemed their conversation over.

Josef at a loss of what to say for once, sighed and went into his room to change into silk pyjamas. Smoothing the shirt over his chest, he flopped onto his four-poster and curled up into the crimson sheets, banishing all thoughts and falling into a dreamless sleep.

Hours later he awoke to rustling in _his_ bed. And _he _wasn't the one doing it. Opening his eyes, he quickly pulled out a dagger from a secret compartment in his headboard and held it in front of him. He then saw the little girl, standing by the side of the bed tugging on the sheets in an effort to wake him.

"What do you want?" He growled groggily, placing the knife on his bedside table. He realized he was a little hungry so he slipped out of bed.

"I had a nightmare, Brother." She explained herself to him and for once he took notice that it was the whole truth.

It didn't help his mood of getting woken up in the middle of the night, or rather, day. "What the hell am I to do about it?" He growled, frowning at her.

"Can I sleep here?" She asked him in earnest.

He groaned and looked at her in exasperation. "Haven't you given me enough trouble?" He asked her, nearly wanting to pull his hair out in frustration at the thought of how much trouble she had given him in the amount of time he had been in her presence.

"You're right." She looked down as if ashamed but he caught how her eyes were tearing. He knew she was trying to guilt him into it but he couldn't help but feel a little pity.

"Fine, you can, I just need to get a drink, you stay in here." He looked at her, searching for any mischief or deceit within those blue depths.

"Okay I will. I promise Brother!" She smiled and perched on the edge of the bed.

He exited his room and headed to the fridge. He pulled out a glass of blood and downed it in one swig. He put it in the sink after rinsing and headed back, licking his lips for any traces. He then came back into his room, to find the little girl curled up on one of his pillows, seemingly asleep.

He carefully slipped under the covers and closed his eyes, feeling rather drowsy. He felt her wiggle her small body through the covers, her back touching his. The last thing he heard before surrendering to slumber was a small whisper.

"Thank-you Brother."

- - - - -

He sat on his chair with a leg crossed over his and his arms crossed-over his chest.

"What's up?" Mick looked quizzically at his friend, seeing the dark shadows under his eyes. He knew that sometimes vampires missed out on sleep but Josef seriously needed to catch up on it.

"Well..." Josef started, at a loss of what to say. He was trying to figure out a way to broach this subject.

"Go on," Beth prodded him, giving him a smile of encouragement.

He smirked and looked back to Mick. "We have a little problem." He started.

"Wait—we?" Mick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, by 'we' I mean I have a little problem and I'm dragging you into it." Josef explained quickly.

At that moment, the little girl slid onto Mick's lap from behind the couch. She had clambered to sit on the back of it and simply jumped, intending to land between the two but ended on Mick. "Hi!" She greeted him with a big grin on her face.

Mick visibly jumped and after looking at her for a few minutes they flew to Josef. "You call this little?!" He asked him, feeling very taken aback by having a little girl on his lap. He looked at her once more but she was looking at Beth, waving her little hand at the reporter.

"Hi, you're the pretty news lady on the computer!" She chirruped adorably.

"Yes I am." Beth replied, wondering how she knew that. What child watched the news?

"Well okay so I lied, not a little problem per se," Josef was grinning, particularly entertained by his friend's reaction.

Mick was silent for a few minutes, watching her grinning up at him. Then it clicked and his gaze flickered back to his friend. "Josef do you know who this is?" he asked tiredly.

"Well, she calls me—"

"Brother! You are Brother." The little girl pouted, jutting out her lower lip and crossing her arms over her chest, mimicking Josef.

"Her name is Melanie Lawson." Mick stated. "Her parents came to me a few months ago, asking me to find her."

"NO!" All three were startled by the loud outburst from the little girl. They looked at her expectantly when she turned red and buried her head in her arms.

"No?" Mick asked, looking at her quizzically. She didn't move and kept silent.

"It starts with an M but you prefer the one that starts with an L." Josef said quietly, remembering the little girl's words the night before.

Slowly she lifted her head to look at him, big eyes watery and cheeks flushed. She was clinging onto him in a hug in second. "Yeah Brother," She kept hugging him, her voice muffled by her face buried in his stomach.

Josef stiffened and then awkwardly patted her small back. She sat back up and got off of him and stood on the floor.

"Melanie—" Mick started but he was interrupted.

"Laine." She said it so quietly Beth couldn't hear it but both vampires could.

"Laine, your parents wanted me to find you." Mick explained gently.

Laine looked up at him and then looked at Beth. "I know. They couldn't ever find me. I was the best in my class at hide and seek." She said, looking down.

"Laine, how old are you?" Beth asked her. Laine looked up at Beth's voice and she slowly lifted her hand.

She held up three fingers.

Beth's eyebrows immediately rose. She got up and knelt beside little Laine. "Don't you mean this much?" She made Laine hold out one hand and three fingers, counting eight.

"No." She pouted and held up three fingers again.

"You can't be three." Beth said. "You wouldn't be able to walk and talk as well as you do."

"Uh, uh. Brother, what does this look like to you?" She turned and looked at Josef, holding her hand out to him.

"Three fingers." Josef answered sarcastically.

"Mister Mick, what does this look like?" She held out one finger.

"One finger." Mick was nonplussed at the girl's antics.

"So what's this?" She asked, holding up a finger on one hand and three on the other.

"Three ones?" Josef asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh huh. What does that make, Beth?" She asked the reporter.

"One-hundred and eleven." Beth's eyes turned to saucers as Laine grinned at her, canines elongated and defined. Her blue eyes turned a turbulent stormy white.

"And that makes me?" Laine asked with childish glee at Beth's response of horrified shock.

Beth let out a long, loud breath; heart beating a mile a minute. "A vampire."


	3. JLP3 Shopping

**Hello, it's Ita-ta, again. This is another chapter, hope you enjoy.**

**Please review, I love them.**

**The next chapter should be out this week, I've started typing it up.**

**Moonlight does not belong to me, it is copyrighted to Trevor Munson and Ron Koslow.**

Charles Chaplin once said, "A day without laughter is a day wasted."

Josef groaned as he felt his headache grow worse. "I just had to be dragged into this," He managed to drawl out in sarcasm.

"Brother! I want this one!" Melanie tugged on his pant-leg and pointed at a white dress. "This one!" Her bright blue eyes looked adoringly at him.

Yes, Josef Konstantin was dragged away from his normal life by a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes to go shopping. Though, she was a vampire. That was just a little detail though in this complex little child.

He let out a breath as he looked at it. "You already have a white dress." He replied.

"After living in this blasted garment for a hundred years, could you be considerate enough to purchase me a new one?" Her voice was dangerously quiet, eyes narrowed irritably.

Josef groaned once more. He really didn't like this. Let's rewind a bit, explain a little.

- - - - -

"Okay, so we have a vampiric little girl." Mick said calmly after Laine's gleeful giggle. "How did you manage that?!" He asked Josef, his brow furrowing in consternation.

"Luck of the draw?" Josef replied smartly.

"Hilarious Josef," Mick eyed the little girl grinning at Beth.

"Mister Mick, do you recall who my parents were?" Melanie looked at him with serious eyes.

Mick looked at her strangely and appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Jerry and Miriam Houston." He spoke slowly. "They died last month, two months that day, I'd been looking for you." He looked at her seriously. "You didn't—"

"I didn't what, Mick? Kill them? Oh please, if I were to kill them I would have done it much before they asked you to find me. They just wanted me back for the money of support I gave them." She looked at him with fury in her eyes. "Those foster _parents_," She spat out the last, "_didn't care anything for me._" She looked at Beth and frowned. "As it is, people saw fit to kill both of them, in a way to try and lure me out and kill me."

"Why kill you?" This time it was Josef who asked this.

"Lawson is my last name, Beth, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks for them, as you researched the Lawson family." Her steely blue gaze met with Beth's.

"The Lawson family?" She looked as if she were thinking for a few moments. "That was a story fifty years ago."

"And?" Laine raised an eyebrow in exasperation.

"Damien and Julia Lawson were lawyers in the DA office. They also inherited the Thompson fortune from Julia's side and Damien was already very wealthy. They worked on several high profile cases and got loads of enemies." She paused and looked at Melanie. "You're their daughter?!"

Laine looked at her and grinned. "Are you kidding?"

"Yes." She smiled and chuckled a little.

"Good because I was slowly losing faith in your academic ability." She clambered onto Josef's chair and sat comfortably on his lap.

"Hey, I'm not part of the chair!" Josef objected.

"I can sit on your lap, can't I Brother?" She looked at him, her voice back to the childish tone from moments ago.

Josef rolled his eyes and looked back at Beth. "So this kid here's a descendent of wealthy people?"

"Yeah, but how did you get into the foster program?" Beth's eyes were for the little girl.

"Protection purposes. The contact that was supposed to be the link between my parents and I was killed. Dumb and dumber decided that they'd keep me until I came of age to inherit the money so they could get their hands on it. Of course, I would not let that happen." She paused and looked at Josef. "Nearly getting whacked sucks." She let out a high-pitched bubble of laughter. "What I mean to say is that I nearly got killed by a sniper when I was walking by myself one day."

Mick's eyebrows shot up. "Someone let you wander around by yourself?"

"Not exactly. See, that was the day I bailed." Looking back at Beth, she smiled a little. "O'course a few years later I whacked that sniper."

Beth was very intrigued by the girl but at the same time rather mortified. "You-you mean you killed him?" She managed to squeak out.

"Kinda squashes this picture of innocence, doesn't it?" Laine looked off in space for a few moments, her eyes sad and empty.

"Only fractionally." Mick answered. "So why seek out Josef?"

"That comes later, for now, I want breakfast and I need a new dress." She looked back at Josef, her childish voice returning, "I know you have the money Brother." An evil grin adorned her features.

- - - - -

Hence why Josef was now shopping with a little girl as his guide. She wandered through the store looking at several dresses, a small grin of excitement on her face.

"Josef!" He turned at his name being called.

"Beth?" She smiled and waved at him, trotting up to stand beside him. "What're you doing here?" He raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Mick wanted me to keep an eye on Laine," Seeing the expression of insult on Josef's face, she grinned at him. "No, he doesn't doubt your abilities, he wanted me to do something other than work."

"Ah," Josef answered, turning to look at Laine, who was rifling through some blouses. He stood there awkwardly, hands shoved in his pants pockets, a look of contemplation on his face. His head turned sharply at the sound of laughter beside him. "What?" He asked her, getting a little irritated.

"Sorry, you just looked so out of place and confused it made me laugh," She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

His brows furrowed into a frown. "Thanks," He said in sarcasm.

"Oh come on, I'm teasing," The smile did not vanish though and her eyes still sparkled.

"Uh huh," He drawled and quickly started walking to where Laine was pulling at a hangar too high for her to reach.

Beth watched as he pulled the hangar off and crouched hold it out in front of him. She walked over to him and smiled. "I think that's a bit too big for you, Josef."

"Yeah Brother, you wouldn't look good in it," Laine giggled, her childish voice resonating in the air.

Josef looked offended and held it toward Laine. "It's for you," He growled.

"Why thank-you, I'm going to go try it on." She skipped off towards the change rooms.

Josef rose to his full height, a scowl on his face.

"What, not happy because you're shopping and not curled up with your laptop in your office?" Beth teased, looking at him with a grin. "Is it so bad to be outside of your office and away from your laptop?"

Josef couldn't help but smirk at the way she was trying to get a rise out of him. "Oh I go for nightly walks," He replied, his smirk widening at how her expression changed at the implications of his words. "Usually when I'm hungry," He found delight in the way her eyes lighted up with apprehension and her smile faded.

"Oh," Her voice was whisper soft, her eyes averted from his face.

Suddenly he wasn't feeling cheerful anymore. Something twisted in his stomach at the way her eyes gained a faraway look of melancholy sadness. He noticed in their meetings in the past with Mick about a case, she sometimes had that look on her face when Coraline was mentioned or anything related to Josh. He'd always shrugged it off. It had been five months since Josh had passed but she always had a smile plastered on her face. After awhile, he could tell that it was fake in the way that there was always a hint of sadness that would flicker in her eyes.

"Brother, Beth!" Laine called in a joyous voice.

Josef watched as a bright happy expression lit upon her face as she crouched down to envelop the little girl running toward her. For some reason it made his stomach twinge again.

"Do I look pretty?" Laine looked at Beth hopefully.

"Of course you do, silly!" Beth grinned at her, holding her out to look at her fully.

In the hour that they had spent at Josef's before parting ways, Laine had become attached to Beth. Seeing this the affection seemed to go both ways.

Laine wore a white dress with a frilled collar and cuffed wrists. The bottom frilled as well. It looked a little old fashioned but it looked very cute on her.

Her bright blue eyes looked uncertainly towards Josef. "What about you Brother?"

It occurred to Josef that his opinion of her mattered to her very much. "You look lovely, Laine." He answered softly.

Her whole face lit up even more than it had been before. "Okay," She smiled and hugged Beth.

Beth returned the hug and stood up. She held out her hand for Laine to take. "Shall we go get some new shoes, too?" She asked.

"Mhm!" After purchasing the dress, Laine took her hand and led her out of the store, Josef following close behind.

They wandered through the mall for a few minutes until Laine spotted a store she liked. She led Beth to the opening of the store, still holding onto her hand. Josef stood on the other side of Laine, looking into the store with little interest.

He looked sharply at Laine when he felt her grab his hand. Then he felt her tugging, insisting upon holding both his and Beth's hands as she paraded around the store.

Ten minutes later, she had found a pair of black dress shoes, a black skirt with a red t-shirt blouse that could be put over a plain white shirt, which she also held. Turning around, Laine let go of their hands and looked up at them. "I'm going to go change," Her childish voice had not wavered. With her left hand she held all of the aforementioned. With her right, she grabbed Josef's. At this he raised an eyebrow in question. He immediately stiffened as she guided his hand to hold Beth's. "Wait here until I'm done," She smiled, a dark look lurking in her eyes, lest they pull away, there would be consequences.

She then promptly skipped off to the change rooms, leaving Josef and Beth holding hands.

His eyes looked over to meet hers, noting the faint colour in her cheeks. "Er," He started, inwardly wincing at how awkward they were. "She's a little mischievous, isn't she?" he meant it as a joke but he could not help but let some of his irritation in his voice. He expected her to keep silent but to his surprise she started to giggle. For the second time today, he was at a loss because of her laughter. "What?"

She looked at him and pulled her hand from his to cover her mouth in an effort to stem her mirth. "Sorry, it's just this is the second time you've contradicted yourself." She managed to say.

"Contradict myself?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in interest.

"Well, you appear to be very smooth with females, but in reality you can be very awkward," She smiled at the incredulous and clearly offended look on his face.

"I am not!" He growled, very affronted with the fact that they did appear to be very awkward, proving her statement. He grew increasingly irritated at the way she was grinning, as if she had just proven her point. His feathers were ruffled at the way she was smugly looking at him with a hint of mirth in her eyes.

"Brother!" Laine's voice broke them out of their argument. She was grinning, holding all of her things. "Let's go shopping more!" She looked adoringly at him.

His gaze slid from the smug look on Beth's face to the adoring look on Laine's. "One more store okay?"

"Okay," She smiled and took their hands again, heading to the counter. They purchased the clothing and shoes and ventured out of the store, into the mall once more.


	4. JLP4 Trauma

**It's Ita-ta here. I know this is considerably shorter but I'm exhausted from studying and staying up until three and getting up at ten. Please review and enjoy**

After the clothing they had gone through several bookstores, Laine insisting upon doing so, as she was in search for a book. They had finally found it when an elderly man showed it to them, a really old and battered book. Laine had held it closely to her the whole time.

They were now back at Josef's apartment.

"I should have known," Beth grinned as she took in the place.

Josef made a grunt of amusement as Laine skipped off into the spare bedroom that he had and started making herself at home. In their meeting earlier it was decided that she would stay with Josef, as she already had an attachment to him.

Laine came out moments later, a smile still plastered on her face.

It was evening outside and the city was in the lull between day and night where it was considerably quieter. "Well, I better get going, I have to type up a story I've been working on," Beth said, still standing by the door. Josef had made himself comfortable in his armchair.

"No!" Josef turned to see Laine cross the expansive living room quickly, hugging onto Beth, her head only reaching her hip. "You have to stay," She murmured pleadingly.

Beth knelt down and hugged her, looking over Laine's shoulder at Josef.

He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. A headache was coming on, his head was already starting to pound. Slowly his head declined in a nod of acceptance.

"Alright, I will." Beth whispered into the girl's ear.

Laine pulled back, a joyful expression lighting up her face. "Yay!" She grinned. "My first sleep over!" She smiled and ran back over to Josef and jumped up onto the chair to hug him. "Thank-you Brother," She said softly in his ear. She jumped off again and smiled up at him.

"You're welcome," He groaned. "I'm going to bed, you two do whatever. Don't open the fridge." He mumbled as he stood, starting to shuffle toward his bedroom door.

"Wait!" He turned to look at Laine expectantly.

"What?" She gave him one of those innocent smiles.

"Can we watch a movie together? Please?" He groaned and came back to sit on the couch. Across from him sat his flat screen tv.

"Fine," He motioned with his hand that some DVD's were in the bottom cupboard.

Miraculously Beth had helped and found Finding Nemo near the bottom of the pile. Laine had grabbed a blanket and a pillow. She spread out the blanket and she had settled on Beth's lap, leaning on Josef's shoulder.

Half an hour later, Laine had fallen asleep, right before Dory and Marlin start travelling with the sea turtles.(A/N: I haven't seen the movie in forever so I don't know if that was a half hour in or whatever but cut me some slack, 'kay?) Josef was still awake and Beth looked as if she would nod off any minute. Carefully, Josef lifted Laine into his lap and then hauled himself and her up, carrying her to her room. She hugged him while he walked. He pulled the sheets down clumsily with one hand and put her down prying her fingers from his shirt.

"Goodnight, Laine," He whispered and after a few moments of hesitation, brushed his lips over her forehead.

He then skulked back into the living room after shutting off her light. He found Beth curled up on his couch, golden hair splayed like a halo around her head. He moved her head cautiously so that it rested comfortably on the pillow and she wouldn't have a cramp when she woke. Grabbing the remote, he turned down the volume and shut everything off. Then he turned off the lights and retired to his room.

Too tired to care, he threw off his shirt and undershirt and pulled off his pants leaving him in silk boxers. He snuggled under the covers and let his heavy lids droop shut.

- - - - -

Slowly blue eyes opened and a blonde head lifted up. Her vision was blurry but she could see Josef across the room in the kitchen. Beth sat up and rubbed her eyes, clearing her blurred vision.

"Morning sunshine," her head snapped to him as she saw what he was wearing. Or lack thereof. She looked away but she knew he must have seen the colour that had immediately risen to her cheeks. She didn't need to look again for what he was making, she could smell it; coffee.

"Morning," He smirked inwardly at how her voice was an octave higher than normal. He had forgotten that she was even there in his just-woken-up-and-hadn't-had-blood-yet state. Therefore he was still just in his boxer. He poured a mug of coffee for her, turning and carrying it over to her.

"Here," He murmured, holding it out in front of her, his arm stretched over the back of the couch. He was trying to help her by handing it to her from behind but he didn't miss the shiver that ran down her spine.

She turned, delicate feminine hands taking the mug from him, blue eyes noticing the lean muscles in his arm. She sipped on it, eyes still on his arm, fascinated how it is flexed when he pulled it back. "Thanks," She was glad that her voice was back to normal. Inhaling deeply, she felt her senses sharpen and could acutely feel his body heat.

"You're welcome," He answered. "I'm going to have a shower," he announced, heading to the washroom.

"I don't need in there, thanks," She said, not turning to look at him.

"Uh huh," He said, sarcasm evident. He disappeared inside and soon Beth heard the water running.

She coloured at his sarcasm and the slow drawl with implications. She sipped on her coffee more, in an effort to calm her frazzled nerves. She had just slept over at a vampire's house. Josef's house. She only slept over at one guy's house. Blue eyes darkened in sadness. _Josh_.She sighed and sipped coffee more.

A half hour later, she had straightened her clothes, gone down to get a bagel from the Tim Horton's across the street. On the outside, the apartment looked like an old English apartment, but she knew better on the inside. She had come back into the apartment, to see Josef just getting out of the shower. He had a pair of black jeans on, his hands on his head, rubbing at his wet hair.

She strode over to him, attempting to squeeze past him without contact. He leaned against the doorway, watched her in amusement as she didn't look at him but didn't miss the flinch when he leaned forward, causing her hand to come in contact with his freezing cold abdomen. "Sorry," He grunted, his voice low and rough. He took pleasure in seeing the tremor that ran though her.

Easily, he side-stepped and barred her way. She looked up at him in irritation.

"_Scusi_," She said in Spanish, frowning up at him.

He declined his head to look at her, emphasizing that he was much taller than her. "Don't speak Spanish," He shook his head, a smirk gracing his features at how she reddened. She seemed to have just noticed their proximity.

"You do too! Otherwise you wouldn't know what that meant!" She argued.

"Anyone could figure it out, Beth," His voice was still low and rough, his hand placed against the door frame. He let her name roll off his tongue languidly, as if sounding it out for the first time. His eyes didn't miss the shiver. "Cold?" He asked, letting real concern leak into his voice.

Azure eyes flashed in irritation. "You know well why I'm shivering," She ground out, pressing her hand against his chest in an effort to push him out of the way. It resulted in goose bumps spreading over the area she touched and colour to rise to her cheeks. She looked like a tomato. He didn't budge.

"I do?" He feigned surprise, raising an eyebrow, telling her to elaborate. She remained silent so he leaned forward, causing her hand to slip up, sliding over the contours of his chest.

"You're impossible!" She growled, looking down and then quickly looking off to the side. Because looking down would result in looking at his bare six-pack. She quickly removed her hand and in a split second he was easily on the other side of her, heading toward the fridge. She immediately disappeared into the washroom.

He smiled as he pulled open the fridge, grabbing a glass of blood and downing it in one go. Heading back into his room, he grabbed a white shirt, tugging it over his head. He went back into his living room, picking up the blanket and folding it.

His head snapped to the side at the sound of the door opening. "Where the hell were you?" He asked incredulously.

Laine was just stepping into the apartment, a grin on her face. "The playground." She answered cheerfully. "I was hungry for some strawberry ice cream." She said, the dark implications immediately clicking his head.

"You did that out in the open?" He asked.

"Hide and seek, always gets them." She answered, licking her lips.

"Ah," He answered, sitting on the couch. He noted that it smelled faintly of jasmine now.

"What are we doing today?" She asked excitedly.

"Well I'm working today, five meetings," He answered.

"What am I to do?" She asked, a frown clouding her innocent features.

"You can hang out with me today," Beth smiled as she strode over to her, Laine hugging her immediately.

"At Buzzwire?" Laine's eyes went wide and curious, hope in her voice.

"Sure," She answered.

"Yay, an adventure at Buzzwire!" Laine grinned.

Beth was just glad that she wouldn't have to see Josef for the rest of the day. She had had enough Josef-induced trauma for one month.


	5. JLP5 Here

**Yeah, I know it's really short. But I wanted to update after such a long absence.**

**Please don't throw things at me.**

**Moonlight doesn't belong to me, Laine does.**

**The plotline of this story also does.**

**Please read and review. Thanks.**

Beth let out a heavy sigh, contemplating the day's events. Her hands swirled the contents of the wine glass absently, her body seemingly relaxed. She had a new case, she had to investigate a murder that took place near a place where fights occurred. Where people placed bets on the fighters and they'd watch and win or lose.

Laine had returned to Josef's place, having given Beth a hug before going to bed. She had worked later than expected but Laine didn't seem to mind. The peculiar little vampire found many things to do while Beth worked. She also happened to be an artist, drawing many of her co-workers, some were comically distorted. Beth smiled at the thought of the hilariously distorted sketch of Steve.

Her expression clouded as she shifted, hearing the soft thrum of the rain pattering against the windows. Drawing her knees up to her chest and leaned further into the pillows that supported her back. The sheets covered her knees and she wore one of Josh's old shirts, taking comfort and sorrow in stride with his faint scent. Downing her glass of red wine, her hand splayed over the album beside her. A photo album of all her memories with him.

Letting out a choked sob, she curled into a ball and sobbed herself to sleep.

- - - - -

She woke with a jerk, hearing a crackling beside her as she moved. The plastic covering over the album had made the noise. She pushed it away, red rimmed eyes looking solemnly over to the window where a dreary day was depicted. Slowly getting out of bed, she wandered to the window, looking outside.

It was raining, the light wasn't there, a rather dim day, thunder rumbled grumpily and angry clouds were dark. It fit her mood. She let out a sigh, staring outside but not really taking anything in. For an hour she sat, ignoring phone calls and beeps from her laptop signifying a new message. She finally got up, walked over to the phone and unplugged it and shut down her laptop.

Crawling back over to the window, she sat on the sill, drawing her knees up. She had he good days and her bad days and her roller-coaster had sunk down. She let out a sad sigh, heavy with the sorrow of having lost the life of a lover. She remembered the days when it rained, sometimes she'd go out and sometimes she's stay in. They were always spent with Josh.

"_Hon?" Josh grinned at her, standing in the doorway, clad in only jeans, holding a plate of pancakes. Beth sat up, bright blue eyes lighting up with joy._

"_Oh Josh," She gushed, a big grin on her face. "You didn't have to do this."_

"_But it's raining, we should have pancakes to cheer up on a dreary day," He laughed, sliding into the bed with her, balancing the plate._

"_Where's your plate?" Beth asked in confusion, looking inquiringly at him._

_A smirk adorned his features as his eyes lit up with mischief. He cut off a small piece of pancake with his fork, soaked in maple syrup and popped it in his mouth. "Who said it was your plate?" He teased._

"_Ah!" She scoffed in indignation. Her mouth was open and Josh took that moment to put a piece in her mouth. "Mmmmm," She smiled, savouring the taste of butter and syrup._

"_Later we'll head out with an umbrella; the city is much quieter when it's raining." He said._

_Beth smiled, knowing that Josh was most likely correct. She nodded happily._

Sobs and gasps caught her breath, tears unending and shoulders shaking. She hugged her knees to her chest tightly, her small form shaking as she watched the sky cry. Crawling over to the bed, she collapsed onto it in a grief-stricken heap. She curled into a ball once more and slowly fell asleep.

- - - - -

Her eyes snapped open to banging on the door. She slowly lifted her head up, her eyes swollen and rimmed with red remains of tears. Her cheeks were blotched with colour and she felt horrible. Still, she stumbled out of the room to the door across the living room. She heard the muffled voice now.

"Beth?" She let out a sigh; she knew it wasn't anyone other than Josef. Only Mick and Josef would have been able to hear her approach silently.

"Go away." She only managed to choke out.

Josef rubbed his temples, thinking it wasn't smart to come out to check on her. His migraine hadn't budged any and he hadn't had fresh blood in awhile. He'd get that later. Her phone was disconnected and her computer was off. He decided to try again.

"Beth? Please let me in."

"Go away."

Josef was getting a little impatient. "Beth, open the damn door. I don't get worried over things that I have to physically come and check up on them that often." _Please Beth, I'm worried about you._

He heard a click of the door unlocking but she did not open it. He heard her retreated back across the room, retreating presumably into her bedroom. He quietly let himself in.

Her quiet voice reached him easily. "What do you want?" It was frail and sorrowful.

Josef's instincts said that she was mourning Josh. A frown marred his face; Laine had suddenly prompted him to go check on her. He had left Laine back at his place. She was right to request him to go.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, slowly, silently making his way to the open doorway where he could see her form sitting by the window.

"I'm fine," Her tone was bitter. He could see that she hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. She seemed a little more frail.

"No you're not." He murmured, standing in the doorway, his tone soft.

"Of course I'm not!" She turned to him then; blue eyes alight with anger and sorrow. "You wouldn't be either!"

"I know."

"You don't know! How could you know?!" She paused, her breath catching. "You haven't lost someone that was going to propose to you! You live forever!"

Josef was silent, having had arrived by her side.

"I couldn't save him! I loved him! How could he leave me? How?!" She looked up at him with turbulent eyes that were watering. "He left me all alone in this wicked, wicked world!"

He still was silent, watching as her shoulders started to shake. He was taken aback as she launched herself at him, pounding at his chest in frustration and tears. Her small fists weren't making much impact but she was crying and shaking and hitting.

"Alone! Alone, alone, alone, alone!" She punctuated each word with and punch, voice unsteady, breath heaving. She struggled against him when he wrapped his arms around her and she wriggled and pushed, growled and snarled. She fought so hard but he kept holding on. Slowly she stopped her fight but kept crying onto his chest.

"Alone," The last word was quiet and muffled but Josef heard her.

"It's alright Beth. Everything will be okay." He held her close and his voice was calming. He was surprised at himself; his cynical side had disappeared for a few moments it seemed. He couldn't remember the last time he held someone to comfort them like this.

"I'm here."


End file.
